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Thu, 23 Jul 2015 00:02:43 +0000en-UShourly110 Q & A’s About California’s Paid Sick Leave Lawhttp://cocsbdc.org/2015/10-q-as-about-californias-paid-sick-leave-law/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=10-q-as-about-californias-paid-sick-leave-law
http://cocsbdc.org/2015/10-q-as-about-californias-paid-sick-leave-law/#commentsWed, 22 Jul 2015 23:49:04 +0000http://cocsbdc.org/?p=2708Continue reading →]]>California’s paid sick leave law; called the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (AB1522) took effect July 1, 2015. The new law is meant to promote a healthy workforce, help employers reduce turnover, and increase productivity. Check out the Q&A below for more information about the law.

WHAT IS THE HEALTHY WORKPLACE, HEALTHY FAMILIES ACT OF 2014? “The new law provides that any employee who, on or after July 1, 2015, works in California for 30 or more days within a year from the beginning of employment, is entitled to paid sick leave. Employees, including part-time and temporary employees, will earn at least one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked. Accrual begins on the first day of employment or July 1, 2015, whichever is later.” Quoted from Small Business Majority.com more>

WHICH EMPLOYERS ARE COVERED? The act applies to private and public employers regardless of size. “Any employee who has worked in California for 30 or more days within a year from the beginning of employment will be entitled to paid sick days under the Act. Part-time and full-time employees are covered, as well as exempt and nonexempt employees. For information on the groups of employees not covered by the law visit: Cal Chamber’s Guide here (page 1)

WHAT ARE EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR USING PAID SICK LEAVE? “Employees may use accrued paid sick leave beginning on the 90th day of employment, may request paid sick leave in writing or verbally, and an employee cannot be required to find a replacement as a condition of using paid sick leave. In addition, an employee can take paid leave for the employee’s own or a family member’s diagnosis, care or treatment of an existing health condition or preventive care or for specified purposes for an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.” SmallBusienssMajority.com more>

HOW MUCH SICK LEAVE WILL AN EMPLOYEE RECEIVE? An employer has several approaches to choose from including: 1) Statutory Accrual Method 2) Optional Accrual Method that provides no less than 24 hours by the 120th day 3) Alternative Accrual for New Hires 4) Pre-Existing Employer Policy 5) Lump-Sum Method. For information on each click here.

WHAT IF YOU ALREADY HAVE A SICK LEAVE OR PAID TIME OFF POLICY? “As long as an employer has a paid leave policy or paid time off policy (PTO) that meets the law’s leave time requirements, and allows that time to be used for the same purposes, the employer is not required to provide any additional leave. The new law establishes a minimum requirement, but an employer can provide sick leave through its own plan or establish different plans for different categories of workers. However, each plan must satisfy the accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the law. If an employer provides a policy that exceeds the law’s minimum requirements, including providing a specific cap, the policy must be clear as to the additional terms that apply to that business’s employees. An employer is in compliance with the paid sick leave law as long as the business provides at least 24 hours per year of paid leave that can be used for healthcare and meets other requirements in the law.” Quoted from SmallBusinessMajority.org – California Paid Sick Leave Law more>

WHAT ABOUT LOCAL ORDINANCES? Employers are to comply with both the local and California laws. The employer will need to provide the more generous provision or benefit to an employee where the laws differ between local and state. e.g. in the City of San Francisco separate ordinances exist requiring paid sick leave. If the local ordinance for example requires more accrued sick leave, that provision would take precedence, since it’s a more generous. See here for more from the National Partnership for Women and Families; California noted on page 3.

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NONCOMPLIANCE? According to CalChamber’s site if employees do not comply with the new law, they can face Labor Commissioner enforcement measures including giving back pay, damages, and penalties ranging from $50 to $4000. The law also states that employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who take sick leave.” More examples >

6 STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL COMPLIANCE – 1) Display poster on sick leave, document policy and share with your staff. Click here for the poster. 2) Provide written notice to individual employee at the time of hire with paid sick leave information. Click here for the notice. 3) Provide for accrual of one hour of sick leave for 30 hours of work for each eligible employee to use. 4) Allow eligible employees to use accrued paid sick leave upon request or notification. 5) Show how many hours of sick leave an employee has available; must be on a pay stub or document issued the same day as a paycheck. 6) Keep records showing how many hours have been earned and used for three years. Department of Industrial Relations – Paid Sick Leave Facts and Resources _slide 8.

WHAT DOES AB 304 COVER? AB 304 passed July 13, 2015 as urgent legislation to provide more clarity and address employer areas of concern about the paid sick leave law. The amendments clarify who is a covered worker, exempt retired annuitants, address unlimited sick leave policies, provide alternative methods for paying employees who use sick leave and more. For a complete list of what the amendments cover and explanations from CalChamber click here.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not for the purpose of providing legal advice. Please consult your labor and employment counsel for any specific questions that apply to your business. For the latest information please visit the FAQs and other resources on the California Department of Industrial Relations site here.

]]>http://cocsbdc.org/2015/10-q-as-about-californias-paid-sick-leave-law/feed/0GO-Biz Launches New California Business Portal: A One-Stop-Shop Website for Business Ownershttp://cocsbdc.org/2015/go-biz-launches-new-california-business-portal-a-one-stop-shop-website-for-business-owners/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=go-biz-launches-new-california-business-portal-a-one-stop-shop-website-for-business-owners
http://cocsbdc.org/2015/go-biz-launches-new-california-business-portal-a-one-stop-shop-website-for-business-owners/#commentsTue, 07 Jul 2015 18:21:57 +0000http://cocsbdc.org/?p=2691Continue reading →]]>State Website Consolidates Information on Starting a Business, State Permits and Regulations, Incentives and More

Sacramento, Calif. – As part of an ongoing effort to provide more on-line tools to businesses, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) today announced the launch of the California Business Portal, a one-stop-shop website for business owners looking for information and assistance. (www.BusinessPortal.ca.gov)

“The California Business Portal is a response to the needs of the business community and their request for better on-line tools,” said GO-Biz Chief Deputy Director Panorea Avdis. “California business owners now have a resource to make it easier to do business in the state and GO-Biz will continually update the portal to ensure it keeps up with the demands of business owners and entrepreneurs.”

The California Business Portal provides information to business owners on starting a new business, permits and licenses, incentives, local resources and more. The portal is available on the business owner’s schedule and has a number of key features, including:

Quick Start Guides: Short guides that contain the essential information for starting, and growing specific types of businesses in the State of California.

California Business Navigator: Not sure where to start? The Business Navigator provides custom information for your business including permits, licenses and incentives.

Service Desk: Get answers to commonly asked questions with the California Business Portal Service Desk. If the information for your situation is not here yet, submit your question and GO-Biz will provide a customized answer.

“As the global hub of innovation, California is often the first to meet challenges with novel solutions,” said Robert Callahan, California Executive Director for The Internet Association. “This portal is a great example of how government can harness the power of the Internet and empower citizens through the use of technology.”

GO-Biz began building the framework for the business portal in the fall of 2014. Using existing resources, including staff from the Department of Technology IT Leadership Academy, it took GO-Biz IT Chief Thomas Boon and his team six months to build the website infrastructure which is also mobile friendly and can be accessed on iOS and Android devices.

“It was a top priority of GO-Biz to get people from the business community involved in the development of the California Business Portal,” said GO-Biz IT Chief Thomas Boon “As a result, the ease of use and content are reflective of the type of information and assistance business owners need.”

In addition to the business portal, GO-Biz has delivered a number of web based tools for business owners including easy to use on-line applications for the California Competes tax credit and the California Film Commission film tax credit.

About GO-BizThe Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz)serves as California’s single point of contact for economic development and job creation efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information visit:www.business.ca.gov.

]]>http://cocsbdc.org/2015/go-biz-launches-new-california-business-portal-a-one-stop-shop-website-for-business-owners/feed/010 Crowdfuding Misconceptionshttp://cocsbdc.org/2015/10-tips-for-crowdfuding-misconceptions/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=10-tips-for-crowdfuding-misconceptions
http://cocsbdc.org/2015/10-tips-for-crowdfuding-misconceptions/#commentsMon, 22 Jun 2015 22:49:54 +0000http://cocsbdc.org/?p=2684Continue reading →]]>You’ve heard about crowdfunding. It’s everywhere. You’ve heard about other entrepreneurs raising money to grow their businesses. But if you find yourself muttering any of the following in the mirror, please allow us to share a different perspective on these common misconceptions with you:

1. Crowdfunding is just panhandling: If you’re asking for money, you’re actually doing this wrong. Small businesses succeed in “rewards-based” crowdfunding (Indiegogo, Kickstarter) by offering exclusivity, VIP status, and unique pre-sale items and experiences directly to their existing and prospective customer base. Great examples of non-physical offerings are letting people name a product or putting the contributor’s picture/name on a wall of fame.

2. The best thing about crowdfunding is money: Obviously, additional capital is useful to any business, but it’s not the most useful thing that comes from the crowdfunding process; the greatest rewards come from deeply engaging new and existing customers. When you effectively share your mission and purpose, like-minded customers become your evangelists who do a lion’s share of your marketing for you — for years to come. They often will also help you better develop your product-market fit, your messaging, even what new products to add to your line or new features to add to your service.

3. It’s a distraction: Everything you need to do to give you a shot at a successful crowdfunding campaign – expanding your social media reach, improving regular communication with your existing customers or newsletter, identifying and deepening relationships with key influencers, reaching out to media in your niche – all will turbocharge your business, whether you are crowdfunding or not. In fact, odds are, you’ve been meaning to get around to tackling these things anyway; crowdfunding is a perfect way to accomplish all these things and get the benefits mentioned in #2.

4. It’s not as good as VC money: To raise money the traditional way, you identified an amount you needed to fuel a growth plan, you held about 50 lunches and 200 phone calls with investors, wrangled them all into a term sheet that gave away as much as 49% of your business and you were left with… money and investors to answer to. You still had to find customers, get them to buy, and hope the enterprise earned enough to create a satisfactory multiple for the investors. With rewards-based crowdfunding, your funding comes from your market. The fundraising is the business. The more you raise, the smarter your business becomes, and the more you are worth. And you still own 100% of your equity.

5. It’ll be annoying to my friends and colleagues: Data shows that while people may say they’re annoyed by repeated communication from crowdfunding friends, they will actually contribute more, the more they’re contacted. On Indiegogo for example, campaigns that update their followers 31-50 times over the span of the campaign raise over 4 times as much as those that update 0-5 times.

6. The crowd is waiting for me on the crowdfunding platforms: While there are lots of projects that end up as majority-funded by total strangers, none of them start that way. No one likes to be first to a party, and crowdfunding is similar. Contributors may love you, your business and your offer, but they won’t give to a crowdfunding project until they see that you’ve reached about 30% of your stated goal. That means you have to start the momentum with your Rolodex, social media and family.

7. I’ll just hire someone to take care of my campaign: There are some reputable consultancies who can single-handedly take over and run your campaign, but they are quite expensive, and will inevitably lack the deep understanding and knowledge of your business, service and product. Expect to be hands-on for a solid 60 days, if you want to give yourself your best shot. This includes preparing your pitch, choosing rewards and doing some hands-on friends & family outreach first, and later getting involved with project updates and synthesizing learning that comes from customers’ feedback.

8. I can do it in my spare time: No, you can’t. (And what’s spare time?) Data shows that campaigns with several “owners” far outperform those with a single owner, so, enlist partners. They’ll share the time commitment, broaden your first circle of relationships, and provide a variety of voices to spread the message.

9. If I use an equity platform now, I’ll scare off later investors: If you choose to go the equity crowdfunding route (think AngelList, Crowdfunder, et. al.), you can amass a large number of small-dollar investors who can fuel your growth, often at more favorable terms than you’d get from a VC. The growth you create can better position you for an institutional round, and most if not all VCs recognize a successful equity crowdfunded round as a validation rather than a burden. Maybe the way of the future is what Neil Young’s Pono Music did: they ran a presale, rewards-based crowdfunding campaign that raised over $6 million for their PonoPlayer, then used the momentum created to do an equity-based crowdfunding campaign that sold shares in Pono Music (in part to the same contributors) and raised over $10 million.

10. There’s nowhere for me to get help: I have great news for you: you have the California Small Business Development Centers (SBDC)! Through L.A. Chamber’s own Bixel Exchange, you can sign up right now for consulting hours with some of the best minds in the industry at no cost to you (thank you, LA Area Chamber of Commerce, SBA, LA Regional SBDC Network and Go-Biz!). You’ll get help choosing the right crowdfunding platform, and help with strategizing and mapping out a campaign that can accelerate your business’s growth.

Special Thanks to: Adam Chapnick for his content contribution to this article. Adam is a Business Advisor specializing in crowdfunding, alternative finance, and strategic messaging with the LA Regional SBDC Network at the Bixel Exchange –Emerging Technology Center hosted by the LA Area Chamber of Commerce.

]]>http://cocsbdc.org/2015/10-tips-for-crowdfuding-misconceptions/feed/0Our New Look- America’s SBDChttp://cocsbdc.org/2015/our-new-look/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=our-new-look
http://cocsbdc.org/2015/our-new-look/#commentsFri, 01 May 2015 12:00:39 +0000http://cocsbdc.org/?p=2661Continue reading →]]>Beginning May 1st, we will be adopting the new, national branding, America’s SBDC!

Why the new branding?

We are very excited to join the national branding efforts of America’s SBDC as it represents America’s nationwide network of Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) – the most comprehensive small business assistance network in the United States and its territories.In an effort to communicate a strong message nationwide and create a stronger identity for the SBDC coast-to-coast, the LA SBDC is adopting the new branding.

What this means for the LA SBDC:

The LA SBDC Network will still be proudly assisting clients in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties. We invite you to take a look at the updated list of our network service centers or schedule an appointment today.

]]>http://cocsbdc.org/2015/our-new-look/feed/010 Tips for Reimagining Your Customer Servicehttp://cocsbdc.org/2015/10-tips-for-reimagining-your-customer-service/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=10-tips-for-reimagining-your-customer-service
http://cocsbdc.org/2015/10-tips-for-reimagining-your-customer-service/#commentsWed, 22 Apr 2015 23:57:52 +0000http://cocsbdc.org/?p=2659Continue reading →]]>Providing flexibility and friendly service goes a long way, but are you meeting your customers where they are? Do your customer policies benefit you or the customer? What are your customer service objectives? Check out these ten tips to begin reimagining your business’ customer service experience.

Create a Customer Service Plan and Objectives. Before you begin, ask your customers, vendors, and your employees for their feedback on customer service. Allow the players to provide feedback and take it with open arms. Once you know customer expectations and perceptions, create customer standards for your business, document it, train your employees on that standard, and make a commitment to operating the business with exceptional service as its standard. To execute the standard flawlessly, assure your customer service standards are always implemented with each customer, not just the best clients or the biggest accounts. More on creating a customer service plan from the Edward Lowe Foundation.

Review Your Customer Policies. Collect all of your policies and cross check them with complaints as well as compliments. Assess the role of the “problem policies” and either institute a better approach or remove the policy from your standards. For your most complimented policies, find ways to promote them through your employees or on your marketing materials. For returns, is your policy clear and easily found? Is your return policy on your website or on the receipt? Do your employees remind customers of your policies for sale items? More customer policy tips from QuickBooks.

Ask, Listen, Be, And Follow Up. Repeat. When it comes to interacting with your customers, ask the right questions. Ask open ended questions that provide you with information that will help you better assist the customer, ask what the customer is shopping for – is it a special occasion? Could you suggest other complimentary products/services? Listen and provide solutions or alternatives if you cannot assist the customer. Be respectful and mindful of the first impression your business conveys across all areas (phone, in-store, employees, online etc.). Be the expert – your team should be able to provide the client with the most information about your product/service, uses, and alternatives. Last, follow up with your customers, personalize the experience and repeat the process.

Hire a Good Mix. First, assess what is important to you and your business? Then, refer back to your newly created/reviewed standards and determine the right mix of employee strengths, personality, skills, and experience appropriate for your business. Don’t forget to include your customer service standards in your job descriptions and performance reviews, then enforce and measure those standards. Great hiring tips from BusinessBeware.

Train. Offer your employees training on providing your customers and vendors great service, and consider making it part of your company culture. Train your employees to keep an eye out for experiences that help customers, encourage a culture of sharing that information with you and with other employees. Once trained, confide in your employees to make customer service decisions to provide a positive experience for your customers. Reward your employees for providing brilliant service with incentives like: other training opportunities, side projects, flexible hours or just say “thank you.” More tips from American Express >

Evaluate Your Reach. Are you making it difficult for your customers to find you? Does your website have your operating hours, phone numbers, store location(s), and links to social? Is your site mobile friendly? If you Google your business and related products/services, does your search return results for your business? Can someone click to call? If not, correct it. Are you meeting your customers “where they are?” Go to your customers and meet them where they’re searching, looking, reading and the like. Remember sales are made one interaction at a time; pair your goals with your channels. Last, assure someone is not only always answering the phone, but providing quality service. Consider giving your best customers a dedicated customer service hotline. Check now on Google My Business>

Publish your Expertise. As often as you can, try publishing your team’s expertise in your industry and products/services via newsletters, blogs, or videos. This could include self help guides, weekly or monthly tips and tricks, dialogues or interviews with other customers using your offerings, or even publishing information on your site when new offerings are available. This could help boost positive content related to your business; focus on creating quality content.

Manage your Reputation. The reputation of your business relies heavily on the service your team provides. Provide the best possible experience for all of your customers both in store and online. Although it may be tough to put your business on review sites, consider the opportunity to create awareness for your business, understand the customer experience with your business, respond to appropriate feedback positive and negative, and address customer related areas in your business. Try using tools like Google Alert to monitor when your business name is used or resources like Help a Reporter Out to help create positive publicity for your business.

Celebrate your Customers. Why not feature your happy customers on your site with a short testimonial? Consider promoting special in store events before or after hours to make your customers feel special and/or celebrate their life occasions. Thank your customers in person, send a note, or make a shout out via social. Reward future customers by creating introductory promotions or free downloadable content. Here’s a 100 more tips.

]]>http://cocsbdc.org/2015/10-tips-for-reimagining-your-customer-service/feed/0Increased funding to California Small Business Development Centers benefits 60,000 entrepreneurshttp://cocsbdc.org/2015/increased-funding-to-california-small-business-development-centers-benefits-60000-entrepreneurs/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=increased-funding-to-california-small-business-development-centers-benefits-60000-entrepreneurs
http://cocsbdc.org/2015/increased-funding-to-california-small-business-development-centers-benefits-60000-entrepreneurs/#commentsMon, 13 Apr 2015 17:21:24 +0000http://cocsbdc.org/?p=2655Continue reading →]]>SACRAMENTO – According to a recently completed annual report compiled by the California Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) from small business client surveys, small businesses experienced substantial growth opportunities due to increased financing in 2014.

The California SBDC is the largest technical assistance provider for small businesses in the state and is part of a national network of nearly 1,000 centers – which are funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Through its 42 centers, the California SBDC provided free on-on-one consulting and low-cost workshops to 60,000 small businesses in 2014. The positive economic impacts of the SBDC program included helping clients’ access more than $535 million in loans and equity investments, a staggering 56 percent increase in capital infusion over the prior year.

In addition, follow up client surveys credited the California SBDC program’s assistance with the creation and retention of 8,624 jobs last year, the launch of 920 new businesses and sales increases of nearly $344 million. Jesse Torres, chair of the California Small Business Development Centers Leadership Council, attributed the upswing in impacts of the SBDC program to several factors including increased funding for services, a statewide initiative centered on helping clients increase loan and investment opportunities as well as an increase in demand for services from technology firms.

“In 2014, the California SBDC Network assisted our clients in achieving more than half a billion dollars in capital infusion,” Torres said. “Through important grants like the Governor’s Capital Infusion program, we were able to expand our confidential business advising and secure our place as a leader in capital infusion assistance. We are grateful to Governor Brown’s leadership on this special funding for our centers and for the state’s ongoing support for small business.”

Last September the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) announced its Capital Infusion Program that would provide $2 million in one-time, matching grants to California SBDC offices to assist small businesses in obtaining capital. The funding came at a crucial time for the California SBDC and provided some assistance in meeting the federal matching funds requirement from the SBA.

Across its 43 centers and more than 100 outreach locations, California Small Business Development Centers provided more than 78,000 hours of free consulting to entrepreneurs in 2014 and conducted 2,515 workshops across the state.

“The SBA’s highly productive partnership with the California SBDC Network has had a significant positive impact in helping small businesses start, grow and prosper,” said SBA Region 9 Regional Administrator Donna Davis. “The SBA’s ongoing commitment to small business and entrepreneurial development not only provides enhanced technical assistance service to the 3.6 million small businesses in California, but also promotes economic development and job growth.”

For more information on California Small Business Development Centers or to find a Small Business Development Center near you, go to www.californiasbdc.org.

About the California SBDC Program

The California Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Program is the leader in providing small business owners and entrepreneurs with the tools and guidance needed to become successful. Local SBDCs provide comprehensive and expert guidance on issues such as start-up basics, financing, business and marketing plan development, procurement and government contracting. One-on-one advising is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and local partners and is offered at no cost. Consulting is supplemented by low-cost or free seminars and conferences. These services are delivered throughout California via an extensive network of 42 Small Business Development Centers. The California SBDC network serves more than 60,000 small business owners annually. Learn more by visiting: www.californiasbdc.org

About SBA

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation. We recognize that small business is critical to our economic recovery and strength, to building America’s future, and to helping the United States compete in today’s global marketplace. Although SBA has grown and evolved in the years since it was established in 1953, the bottom line mission remains the same. The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands and Guam. www.sba.gov

About GO-Biz
GO-Biz serves as California’s office for economic development and offers a range of services to business owners. Those services include attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, important informational briefings and much more. For more information visit:www.business.ca.gov.

]]>http://cocsbdc.org/2015/increased-funding-to-california-small-business-development-centers-benefits-60000-entrepreneurs/feed/010 Tips for Sales Successhttp://cocsbdc.org/2015/10-tips-for-sales-success/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=10-tips-for-sales-success
http://cocsbdc.org/2015/10-tips-for-sales-success/#commentsWed, 18 Mar 2015 00:09:34 +0000http://cocsbdc.org/?p=2646Continue reading →]]> In lean start-ups the founding entrepreneurs often function as the company’s salesperson. This can be challenging for those that are uncomfortable in a selling environment. Rest assured, it does not need to be so daunting. Success in sales is no different than any pursuit. There is a systematic method that can be followed to achieve the desired outcome. Those activities once defined, can be monitored, measured and improved upon to increase performance.

Sales processes can be broken into three components: lead generation, lead management and prospect conversion. The following is a series of questions concerning each of the three processes. Review the questions and customize a list to your organization. Ask each person involved in the selling process to submit their answers. Then have a team building meeting where tribal knowledge can be shared, to the benefit of all involved. The more consistent and streamlined the sales process—the greater potential for overall company success.

Lead Generation:

1. How are you generating leads?

2. Where are you getting customers?

3. What percentage of leads convert to prospects?

4. Are you asking for referrals?

Lead generation is the first step and a crucial aspect of the process. The ability to convert prospects to customers is based on the quality of the lead. Lead generation can take on many forms: cold calls, referrals, mailings, online forms and tradeshows. As a company, you have to determine your best source of quality leads.

If you already have customers, trace the sales pathway backwards to determine how they first learned about your company. Many times the most useful information can be gained by analyzing historical data. Maybe you believe many of your clients were obtained through networking, however upon further examination, you might learn that the majority of your clients came from speaking engagements or exhibition events. If that is the case for you, then focus your sales efforts toward obtaining speaking engagements rather than attending networking functions.

When you audit your sales pathway, you will learn where many of your customers come from, then reposition your investments to fit the appropriate channels. Once you know your channels, the result will likely be that your customer acquisition cost will decrease significantly with savings going directly to the bottom line.

Referrals are one of your company’s greatest assets. Does your company have a process in place to ask for referrals? You may be missing out on additional sales opportunities by not asking customers and partners for a referral.

Measuring the percentage of leads that convert to prospects is as important as measuring the amount of prospects that become customers. This early stage measurement examines the effectiveness of your lead generation process. Starting with a qualified lead provides a better chance for conversion.

Lead Management:

5. What is your process for organizing leads?

6. How fast are you following up on leads?

7. How do you manage the follow-up process?

Independent of the method you use to generate leads, you must have a detailed plan for follow up. Studies have shown that companies take on average 48 hours to respond to an Internet generated lead. Smaller companies do not have the luxury of a dedicated sales force and owners can easily get distracted by daily emergencies.

Anything can be achieved if an intelligent plan is in place. Try to set aside a specific time each day/week for lead follow-up. Prospects will be more patient if they receive some type of response. At the least, have a computer generated message stating an expected response time.

Lead Conversion:

8. What criteria do you use to qualify prospects?

9. At what point in the sales cycle do you determine if the prospect is qualified?

10. What percentage of qualified prospects convert to clients?

Wasting time on a prospect that has no intention of purchasing is missed opportunity for the one that does. Knowing when to cut ties and move on is a learned sales skill. Those that succeed have an internal gauge that says, it’s time to move on.

“Now or in the immediate future, the prospect must be able and willing to purchase your product/service at the price point you are selling”.

Are you properly investing your time with qualified prospects? What specific buying criteria must exist for a prospect to convert to a customer? It is advantageous to write down the top five. Are they able to afford your product? Are they willing to purchase now? This list can be viewed repeatedly when going through the prospecting process.

By calculating your conversion rate from prospect to customer you have a method to audit your processes. Peter Drucker once famously said, “If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” This same principle for management can be applied to your sales strategy.

If you adopt the methodology that selling is a companywide responsibility you will have a selling machine that will constantly be producing new customers. This does not happen mysteriously; it happens as the result of planning and implementing processes. Invest some time developing a sales strategy, it will be time well spent.

Special Thanks to: Lori Williams for her special content contribution. Lori is a business advisor at the Pasadena City College SBDC specializing in strategic planning, finance, marketing and operations. For more information about the PCC SBDC team please visit: http://pccsbdc.org/about/staff/

]]>http://cocsbdc.org/2015/10-tips-for-sales-success/feed/0Entertainment Industry Entrepreneur Refocuses with Help from the SBDChttp://cocsbdc.org/2015/entertainment-industry-entrepreneur-refocuses-with-help-from-the-sbdc/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=entertainment-industry-entrepreneur-refocuses-with-help-from-the-sbdc
http://cocsbdc.org/2015/entertainment-industry-entrepreneur-refocuses-with-help-from-the-sbdc/#commentsThu, 26 Feb 2015 00:58:41 +0000http://cocsbdc.org/?p=2615Continue reading →]]>The SBDC gave this artist management and production entrepreneur a whole new start.

Actress and recording artist, Jane Katherine-Watson founded L.A. Saditte in 2001 with her husband, Michael A. Watson. Initially formed as a talent management agency to develop actors, singers, dancers and writers, the company has since expanded to produce independent film projects worldwide in addition to managing artists.

Challenges

Watson was motivated by the desire to help qualified artists find work after years of stage and television experience herself. She launched L.A. Saditte using her former network of contacts from the entertainment industry. Despite pouring her heart and soul into the business and getting work for clients, a decade later she still couldn’t afford to quit her day job. “My sister told me I was putting all my efforts into making other people rich, and I should go to the SBDC [for help],” Watson recalls.

Best Advice

The SBDC, hosted by College of the Canyons, helped Watson re-evaluate and rebrand her business, differentiate herself in the marketplace, and redesign her business website. In addition, the SBDC advisors assisted Watson with her new business plan and financial projections, as well as assisted her with applying for a business loan.The SBDC, hosted by College of the Canyons, helped Watson reevaluate and rebrand her business, differentiate herself in the marketplace, and redesign her business website. In addition, the SBDC advisors assisted Watson with her new business plan and financial projections, as well as assisted her with applying for a business loan.

Client Impact

“My business started the day I met my SBDC advisors,” Watson says. “Working with them has taught me not only about my business, but more importantly about myself. Gil’s first-hand experience and the information he has imparted are priceless. In the entertainment business, no one helps anyone. Working with Gil has given me that much-needed edge.”

Lean methodology looks at eliminating the waste from any process not just manufacturing. This includes services and transactions as well. Henry Ford was practicing lean before Toyota made this methodology popular. He didn’t call it lean then, he just called it efficiency. Check out these 10 tips on implementing lean and the seven deadly wastes that could be affecting your business.

Lean is not “lean and mean.” It’s not about getting rid of people; instead, it looks at creating value for the customer and capacity utilizing existing talent. Lean is about satisfying customer demand in the right quantity and at the right time. This is called Just-in-time processing. Everything is based on the daily customer demand rhythm called Takt Time, A German term meaning cadence. If your process can deliver in less time than the customer requires, then the process has added-capacity. If your process cannot meet daily customer demand, then you are building a backlog. Identifying the waste is easy, getting rid of it is the hard part and takes a team effort by the people that do the work. Getting these folks to come up with ideas to improve the process in small incremental steps is called Kaizen, and you are never done. Kaizen looks at eliminating the Seven Deadly Wastes. These include:

Overproduction: making more than what is needed, just-in-case we do not generate a product correctly. Fix the process instead to deliver precisely what you need.

Defects and Rework: ill-trained or un-informed employees on what quality looks like.

Unnecessary Processes: Folding a full day’s worth of boxes “so you can get ahead.” Instead, fold for two hours and then move product for two hours. Batching accounts payable to Thursdays, producing all of the same work because we are painting the same color, updating employee birthdates in Human Resources to once a quarter, even though birthdays happen every day.

Finally, lean looks at balancing the workflow by eliminating batching and driving to one-piece flow. We included ten tips from one of our specialized SBDC Advisors to help jumpstart your Lean Initiative at your place of business:

Gain Executive Buy-in as an Enterprise-wide Strategic Initiative: It is not Joe or Sally’s way. It is learning the lean methodology and making it part of the fabric of your organization.

Metrics Should be Measured and Public: Most organizations are “data-rich.” Learn what data is appropriate for you to start seeing patterns good or bad that you can track over time. If it can be measured, it can be improved.

Tie Individual Performance Goals to the desired outcomes.

Create cross-functional teams: Implement the improvements with these teams and make the outcomes inter-dependent to the reward. This way, people help each other out and the success one of one is tied to another’s.

Conduct Improvement Projects: Conduct monthly improvement projects called Kaizen Activity with Cross-Functional Teams so people can get to know each other and learn about each other’s work.

Conduct Daily Executive “Walk-Abouts:” Each department should post their goals and objectives. During daily “walk-abouts” executives can then ask a department head or manager what resources they may need. This is not a time for in-depth examination; the action should provide guidance to department heads for respective goals, demonstrate a commitment from the executive to supporting those goals, and be a mechanism for monitoring progress.

Setup Dedicated Lean Coordinators or Green-Belts and Black Belts.

Benchmark: Visit other factories, stores or facilities to learn how they do business.

Special Thanks to: Carlos Conejo for his special content contribution. Carlos is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and a business advisor at the Economic Development Collaborative -Ventura County SBDC specializing in Management, Operations, and Strategic Planning. For more information about the EDC-VC SBDC team visit: http://edcsbdc.org/about/staff/

]]>http://cocsbdc.org/2015/10-tips-for-implementing-lean/feed/010 Tips for Starting a Small Businesshttp://cocsbdc.org/2015/10-tips-for-starting-a-small-business/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=10-tips-for-starting-a-small-business
http://cocsbdc.org/2015/10-tips-for-starting-a-small-business/#commentsWed, 21 Jan 2015 21:58:43 +0000http://cocsbdc.org/?p=2588Continue reading →]]>Thinking of starting a business? Whether it’s home-based, retail, technology related, or not, start by reviewing some of the most common steps and resources for starting your business below. Remember to review the LA SBDC calendar for monthly workshops on a large array of startup topics.

Assess the Viability of Your Idea. What is your idea – how can you best describe it? How big is the market? What is the demand? If your idea improves on an existing product or service, what makes your idea different? Research your potential market, understand what your customers want, review the potential competition big and small and assess where your business fits. Are there opportunities abroad? Is there a niche? Know your vision, develop a purpose and use it as your guide. For help with market information check out SizeUp, ask your local SBDC for free market data, or review this great business guide from Peter Jones.

Project Your Costs and Review Your Financing Options. Although, financial projections may seem daunting, projections help predict the financial health of a potential or existing business through analyzing costs, size of the market, prices, and other conditions. Your projections can assist you greatly with determining if you can move forward with your business; consider using our financial projections template and step-by-step guide. Then, if needed, assess the type, as well as the amount of financing you may need. If financing is needed, assure your projections match your funding requests, and your funding type matches your needs – long or short. Don’t forget to call your local SBDC advisor to walk you through your financial projections, financing options, and assist you with packaging your loan – at no cost. Check out our article on Inventive Financing Methods and Resources for Your Small Business.

Develop a Plan. Creating a plan is an important step to starting a business, some banks require a business plan for financing and it can even be required to lease space. To begin your plan development, consider starting with a free sample plan at sites like Bplans.com and reviewing our Business Plan Guide. Then, tailor the plan to suit your business.

Choose a Structure. Review business structure options and decide the best structure – Sole Proprietor, Partnership, LLC, Corporation, etc. Take your time choosing the right business structure and take into consideration cost, taxes, and potential liability. Contact a few local attorneys that focus on business formation and tax issues. Check out The Franchise Tax Board’s handout on forms of ownership for details about key features, filing guidelines, and tax forms for each ownership structure.

Check Your Name. Is your business name already taken? This will largely depend on the type of structure you choose- for LLCs and Corporations, check out the Secretary of State’s Business Name Search - http://kepler.sos.ca.gov for Sole Proprietors and Partnerships, look up your county’s Fictitious Business Name Search website - Los Angeles County. Also, check whether a domain related to your business name is available to create a website in the future. Search GoDaddy.com.

Setup Your Record-Keeping Systems. Setup your record-keeping systems to help manage your business and its growth. This is great time to review CRM, Accounting, and project management software. Check out this article on leveraging technology to think like the giants. Remember to create a new bank account to keep your personal and business accounts separate.

Understand Tax Obligations and Opportunities. Just about every tax agency has online publications and videos, many of which hold in-person workshops so you understand your tax obligations thoroughly. Try to also attend SBDC workshops like “Avoiding Tax Mistakes.” Aside from tax obligations, sometimes there are tax credit opportunities for your business too. California is currently in its second round of issuing “California Competes” tax credits; $75 million in credits are available this round and 25% of the total credits are allocated for small businesses. Click for a step-by-step guide on completing the application or navigate to upcoming informational workshops on the tax credit.

Limit Your Risk and Protect your Investments. Whenever possible, transfer major risks to insurance companies (e.g. insuring against major facility damage or injuries) or other suppliers (e.g. accounting firms, Payroll Services etc.). Review your business insurance options (Commercial Auto; General Liability, Product Liability; Professional Liability; etc.) with your insurance provider and assess the potential liabilities that may exist in your business; most personal policies will not cover business activities. Remember to review your warranties and those you issue, keep accurate records, and keep a close eye on your accounts receivables to manage cash flow effectively.

Look Before You Lease. You may need space to start your business, however, before your sign the lease consider reviewing our handout which covers many questions to ask your leasing agent about parking, zoning, permits, signage etc. Check with your local SBDC about special programs like KIMCO KEYS, which offers first-time business owners one-year free rent in their shopping centers and added benefits (terms apply).

Target and Market. You reviewed your potential customers when you began researching, now assess their behaviors and start marketing. Review how to target your marketing and attract customers, then choose the appropriate channels to start marketing to them. Marketing online can be an inexpensive start; consider email marketing through Mail Chimp or Constant Contact, managing social accounts with HootSuite or Sprout Social, and creating your website with tools like WordPress that are considerably more user-friendly to manage.

Special Thanks to: Sean Snider for his content contribution to this article. Sean is the Director of the SBDC hosted by
the University of La Verne. For more information about the ULV SBDC team visit www.lavernesbdc.org/about/staff.